Having been touring the Langhe for over 10 years, I wonder why I have never considered a visit to Acqui Terme, as it is only an hour north of TorreBarolo, and 30 mins of it is autostrada driving. Well, last week I finally made the journey as a new friend of mine, Diana Baur, lives there with her husband Michael and together they own and operate a wonderful B&B.

Acqui Terme is an ancient Roman spa town where the mineral rich waters are captured in the towns Terme. In addition to the public Terme, there are private spas and high end hotels that also harness this naturally rich water and it is integral to their various spa treatments, the most well known being the Grand Hotel Thermes.

From Diana’s house, you can see the Alpi mountains of Liguria, so I guess it should be no surprise that this little city (population 23k) has more of a Ligurian than a Piemontese/Langhe feel. The buildings are all shades of pastels and with the palm trees and fountains one feels like they are at a seaside resort vs a  medieval hill top city.

What is most impressive about Acqui Terme is the complete renovation of the historic center. Diana and Michael explained to me that awhile back the residents of the historic town center were given two choices: interest free loans to renovate their buildings or else up and sell to the Comune.

Well, it was a clever idea because given the wide streets, grand piazzas and pedestrian walkways, it is a pleasure just strolling around the city center as each corner brings a photo opportunity. Diana summed it up well by saying it is a very precious city.

The wines in the area tend to be more Barbara d’Asti, Dolcetto and the sweeter wines (ie. Moscato). Surely booking in a spa treatment would be a pleasurable way to spend part of the afternoon if you venture there (I certainly will try on my next visit) and if you find yourself in the city center around aperitvo time, Diana took me to a lovely wine bar, La Fonte del Vino, that has tables outside in the piazza in the summer time and the best buffet of nibbles I had seen in a long time to enjoy along with your glass of wine.

So, of all my “A” neighbours, Acqui Terme would be #1 on my list. Alessandria #2, and Asti comes in a poor #3 relative to the competition. As I mentioned earlier on, Aqui Terme is only 1 hour away from TorreBarolo, but if you want to spend more time in this little gem, I’d highly recommend you booking at Diana’s B&B.

Ciao! Welcome to my Blog.

I love the Langhe Valley and wanted to create a means to communicate my excitement about the many things that make up this little jewel tucked away in the Northwest of Italy.

You might wonder how an American, originally from California, came to become a Langhe enthusiast. I credit my dad, Harvey, with exposing me to the area. My dad loved food and he was convinced he was Italian in his previous life. Luckily for me, this resulted in lots of trips to mainly Tuscany and Liguria to eat and visit the Italian friends he collected over the years. Of the three children in our family, I most certainly was the one that embraced his passion for food, so we made a good du0.

What I remember most about my first visit to the Langhe Valley in the winter of 1998 was how different the food was from Tuscany and Liguria. The Langhe dishes were lighter and pasta seemed to melt in my mouth. It was exciting to experience a new Italian regional cooking that was more refined, simpler and distinctive than what I knew to be Italian cooking.

The exclusive use of locally sourced produce and livestock ensure a consistent menu of local delicacies at the highest standard……..and that is just the food. For all you wine lovers, you will already know that during the late 90’s, the wine makers in the region were producing some outstanding vintages to accompany the earthly flavours of the regional cooking.

That trip in 1998 was one of four that I shared with my dad before he died in 2000. The summer after his death, as a family we travelled to his favourite places in Europe, including the Langhe, to scatter a portion of his ashes. Since that summer, each year I returned to the Langhe and I was overwhelmed by a sense of “being home”.

In 2005 I bought TorreBarolo, a17^th century tower in the center of Barolo. No matter how many times I stay there, no matter what the season, I am always overwhelmed by the natural beauty on the Langhe. This combined with my love of the regional cooking and wine has turned me into a qualified Langhe nut, such that a blog on all the wonderful events, food, wines, attractions in the Langhe and beyond just made sense. I hope you find the information useful in planning your stay.

Megan